polish journal of food and nutrition sciences
www.pan.olsztyn.pl/journal/
e-mail: joan@pan.olsztyn.pl
Pol. J. Food Nutr. Sci.
2007, Vol. 57, No. 4(A), pp. 95-99
EXAMINATION OF HYGIENE KNOWLEDGE OF PERSONNEL EMPLOYED IN HOTEL CATERING
ESTABLISHMENTS
Ewa Czarniecka-Skubina, Sebastian Skwierczyński
Faculty of Human Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences
Key words: hygiene knowledge, personnel, hotel catering industry
The aim of the research was to estimate personnel knowledge of hygiene practices assurance in the catering industry. The research was conducted
in a form of a questionnaire among 200 employees of hotel catering establishments.
Over 20% of the respondents were uncertain as to the existence of the HACCP system at their workplace, which may mean that there are not
enough HACCP system trainings and that the system does not function properly. The questions concerning the personnel hygiene were answered correctly by most respondents (about 90%). Different answers were given to the question about how often protective clothing should be changed (only
60% of correct answers). The staff’s knowledge about ensuring proper hand hygiene was sufficient. The respondents found the part about technological
processing most difficult. Many of them were not familiar with correct rules of thawing food (11 persons claimed that thawing food in hot running
water is the right method). They knew that thawed meat cannot be frozen for the second time, but 1 of them said it can be kept in cold storage for 5 days
after thawing. They were not able to define the safe shelf life dishes. They knew the basic rules of GHP and had no difficulties with answering questions
about hygiene assurance in a catering establishment.
On the basis of the conducted research it can be stated that the know-how of the hotel catering staff is not fully satisfactory, especially their understanding of the correctness of food processing. The hygiene employee trainings should be introduced to explain the concepts, principles and idea
of GHP, GMP and HACCP systems, and their implementation should be controlled afterwards. Only the personnel’s full understanding of hygiene
principles guarantees the proper quality of the catering service.
INTRODUCTION
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A rising tendency to eat out in different types of catering
establishments has been observed for many years [Alterkuse
et al., 1996]. Results of many research [Wall et al., 1995; Barrie, 1996; Yi-Mei & Ockeraman, 2005] point to a remarkable
number of food poisoning cases after eating meals provided by
a caterer, in restaurants, social catering and canteens and the
like. According to Yi-Mei & Ockerman [2005], 36% of food
poisoning occurrences is a result of eating in catering establishments, 25% in restaurants and 14% in hotel restaurants.
Weingold et al.[1994] and Coleman & Griffith [1998] indicated improper technological process as the major reason of
food-borne diseases after consumption of food in catering.
One of the main aims of the quality policy in modern food
processing establishments, including catering, is then to ensure health safety of the served meals. Properly trained staff
is crucial to safe processing of food, which means that obligatory hygiene training should be provided for them. Another
very important issue is the frequency of trainings, types and
ways of topic presentation, as well as the control of how newly
acquired knowledge is used in practice.
The aim of the present research was to estimate the real
state of personnel awareness of hygiene practices in hotel catering establishments.
The research was conducted in the form of a questionnaire among 200 hotel catering employees, in five chosen hotels, rated 2*, 3*, 4* and 5* (Figure 1). The chosen hotels were
recommended by the Polish Hotel Association. Management
of the studied hotels gave the permission for staff examination. All the personnel of the hotel catering establishments
were studied. The questionnaire comprised 32 questions related to personal hygiene of the staff, hygiene of foodservice
areas, food processing hygiene, HACCP system and its appli-
Figure 1. The number of respondents in chosen hotels.
Author’s address for correspondence: Ewa Czarniecka-Skubina, Chair of Catering Technology and Food Hygiene, Department of Engineering and Catering Technology, Warsaw Agricultural University, ul. Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warszawa, Poland; e-mail: ewa_czarniecka_skubina@sggw.pl
© Copyright by Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences
96
E. Czarniecka-Skubina & S. Skwierczyński
cation in the hotel, and hygiene training sessions. There could
be only one correct answer to each question. The research
was preceded by a sounding survey to avoid mistakes when
preparing the questionnaire. Twelve persons took part in the
survey, which included personal information, such as age, sex,
education, and occupation.
The examined group was mainly composed of people directly involved with food processing and handling, i.e. cooks,
cooks assistant, pastry chefs, and managers, e.g. kitchen shift
managers. The sex structure of the group was balanced, about
50% of men and women took part in the survey. They were
mainly persons under 40 years of age (85%) that had technical or high school catering education (70.5%), and who held a
position of a cook or cook assistant, or kitchen shift manager
(Table 1).The statistical analysis of the results was performed
using the statistical software Statistica PL for Windows 5.5.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In all of the examined hotels the HACCP system has been
implemented – the system of ensuring quality and safety of
produced meals. However, as many as 15.5% of the respondents never heard of this system, and among them the kitchen
staff members (cooks and cook assistants) were remarkably
even less aware of its existence (p=0.000001). In addition,
22% of the employees expressed their doubts as to whether
the HACCP system is implemented in their workplace. Remarkably more 5 star hotel employees were of that opinion
(p=0.00001). It may mean that this topic is discussed too superficially at training sessions, as well as that there are some
irregularities in the system’s application. It is quite interesting, as 90% of the respondents, irrespective of the hotel rank
(p=0.10297), claimed that they had attended classes that covered hygiene issues. It should be mentioned here that hoteliers
in Poland are united in various hotel associations that organize training courses. What is more, the hotel categorization
TABLE 1. Characteristics of the respondents.
Group characteristics
Total
Sex
Age (year)
Education
Occupation
Group
n
%
-----
200
100
Women
Men
18-25 of age
26-30 of age
31-40 of age
over 40
Elementary
Technical Catering
Technical other than catering
High school catering
High school other than catering
Higher catering
Higher other than catering
Cook
Cook assistant
Kitchen shift manager
Expedition worker
Pastry chef
Waiter
Manager
Trainee
91
109
57
59
56
28
3
57
33
75
18
13
1
123
29
9
4
8
17
8
2
45.5
54.5
28.5
29.5
28
14
1.5
28.5
16.5
37.5
9
6.5
0.5
61.5
14.5
4.5
2
4
8.5
4
1
and recommendation system requires constant improvement
of hotel staff qualifications. Many respondents, when asked
about the purpose of hygiene-sanitary training, said that it is a
legal requirement that aims at raising their hygiene knowledge
level. Some (12.5%) answered that it is supposed to reduce
the risk of food contamination.
Martinez-Tomé et al. [2000] state that an increasing number of training courses covering the subject of GMP and
HACCP system, which would elaborate on the practical issues of providing microbiological quality of food, results in
an improvement of hygiene-sanitary conditions (decreases
amount of microorganisms in salads) in catering establishments under examination.
Personal hygiene awareness of hotel staff Most of the kitchen work in catering establishments involves
direct contact of the employee with food. Fulfillment of the personal hygiene requirements constitutes the main condition that
needs to be met to achieve a high level of health safety of processed food. The purpose of assurance of personal hygiene of
the staff is to exclude a human as a carrier of pathogenic factors
[Kołożyn-Krajewska, 2003]. The employees of food processing establishments are legally obliged to comply with personal
hygiene regulations, to wear protective clothing and to be in
good health condition. Proper personal hygiene practices can
remarkably reduce the occurrence of food poisonings among
consumers [Curtis et al., 2000; Aiello & Larson, 2002].
The respondents understand that personal hygiene of the
catering staff means clean hair, clean hands, and short nails
with no nail varnish on, washed body and clean protective
clothing (92.5% of correct answers). They are aware of the
purpose of medical examinations, such as germ carrier tests,
but they find it difficult to specify the right frequency of such
tests (77% of correct answers). In turn, 98% of the respondents know that a person who is diagnosed with bacteria of
Salmonella should not work with food.
Many different answers were given to the question of how
often protective clothing needs to be changed. There were
60% of correct answers, which is due to the fact that the frequency of changing protective clothing depends on the type
of performed work. Also, many establishments expect their
employees to change clothes once a day only for the sake
of economy. As shown by analyses, 98% of the respondents
know that headgear is an indispensable element of working
clothes.
In the catering industry manual work is most common,
which explains why hand hygiene practices are so important.
According to Kiper & Street [2005] the key to assurance proper food safety is to comply with hand cleaning rules, which
include: frequent washing and disinfection of hands, and
wearing one’s nails short, clean and not varnished. As indicated by De Wit & Kampelmacher [1984], 60% of catering
employees do not wash their hands properly, although they
should keep their hands clean and avoid direct contact with
food whenever possible.
Most of the respondents (90%) know after which work
activities they should wash their hands. As a potential danger during food handling process they mentioned false nails
(33% of answers), and all kinds of hand adornment – rings,
97
Hygiene knowledge of personnel employed in hotel catering establishments
false nails, etc. (63.5%). They defined the most effective way of
washing hands as the act of washing and disinfection and drying hands with a paper towel (84.5% of respondents). Only 8%
of them claimed that it is sufficient to wash hands with soap
only and, after rinsing, to dry them with a paper towel, whereas
5.5% chose the option of drying hands with a cotton towel.
The research conducted in 2002 by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland among the employees and owners of catering establishments in Ireland and Great Britain, shows that
the issue of securing the right hand hygiene is still causing
problems nowadays. It is probably due to shortage of permanent employee training. The research showed that about 50%
of the employees declare to have basic, documented (training course) knowledge about food hygiene. Only 35% of the
owners thought that an appropriately trained employee is important to the proper performance of the establishment. Only
23% of the owners believed in the efficiency of GHP in comparison to 64% of those, who claimed that the key to retain a
customer is good food served by the establishment [www.fsai.
ie, 2005].
The researched employees were familiar with the regulations concerning the proper hand hygiene, they did not know
however, how to proceed in the case of a cut, 56.5% said to
protect it with a plaster if possible and gloves. They understood that in the case of extensive purulent condition of hand
skin one should not work and such an employee should be
removed from a position where contact with food is required.
Many researched employees (72.5%) knew that they are
not allowed to take meals during working time, but 26%
would probably do that if they had no break at work. Statistically, it was more often the choice of respondents employed as
chefs and waiters. It is common knowledge that taking meals
at catering establishments is allowed only in specified areas
(staff room).
Knowledge of hygiene in foodservice areas of catering
industry An important sanitary aspect is not only the personal hygiene of the employees, but also keep of hygiene regulations
during food processing. Three questions in the questionnaire
(test) related to disposal of postproduction waste (Table 2).
As it can be seen from the results, over 90% of the respondents
proved to know the properties of a proper waste container,
as well as the frequency with which it should be emptied and
disinfected. Waste containers, even though they do not have
contact with food, might contain food remnants, which are a
good breeding ground for microorganisms.
Due to the fact that one of the main reasons behind
food contamination during the production process is a bad
hygiene-sanitary state of the foodservice areas, equipment
and appliances, but also incorrectly performed cleaning and
disinfection, a part of the questionnaire was devoted to washing and disinfection practices (Table 3). It seems that the examined personnel is familiar with these practices, as all their
answers were correct, except for one, which concerned the
storing place for detergents and disinfectants (15.5% said it
is not protected).
To sum up, the examined personnel found no difficulties
when answering questions relating to hygiene practices in
TABLE 2. Answers connected with disposal of post production waste.
The best type of waste containers
Respondents
answers (%)
1
Lid operated manually
5
2
Open at all times
1
3
Lid operated with a food pedal, pedal bin
92.5
4
No answer
1.5
Frequency of empting a waste container
1
Once a day
3
2
Twice a day
3
Immediately after filling
94
3
Frequency of disinfecting a waste container
1
Once a day
9.5
2
Not at all, as no direct contact with food
0
3
Each time after it is emptied
90.5
TABLE 3. Answers connected with cleaning and disinfection process.
Places of storage of detergents and disinfectants
Respondents
answers (%)
1
Anywhere, within easy reach
3.5
2
In specified, designated, closed place
43
3
At each workstation
12
4
No answer
42
Efficiency of unprofessional cleaning products used for cleaning
and disinfection of surfaces in catering industry
1
Sufficient
10.5
2
Not sufficient
88.5
3
No answer
1
Type of surface that requires disinfection
1
In direct contact with food
75.5
2
Floor
7.5
3
Windows
17
Parameters that influence the efficiency of cleaning
and disinfection process
1
Concentration of the disinfectant
3
2
Time of exposure to the disinfectant
10
3
Temperature of the disinfectant
2
4
Concentration, exposure time and temperature
of the disinfectant
83
5
No answer
2
foodservice areas of a catering establishment. However, the
employees were not able to distinguish between clean and
dirty zones and could not tell which area belongs to which
zone. No knowledge in this matter may result in the employees moving from one zone to the other at their liberty, causing
safety hazard to the processed food.
Knowledge of food processing in catering industry Most problematic part of the questionnaire related to hygiene regulations during meal preparation. Many of the respondents proved not to be familiar with principles of food
98
thawing. It is very disturbing that 11 persons (5.5%) chose
thawing food in hot running water to be the proper method.
The employees know, however, that thawed meat should not
be frozen for the second time. Still, 22% of them claimed to
keep thawed meat in cold storage for 5 days.
Two questions in the questionnaire concerned the personnel awareness of hazard related to eggs in catering technology. Most of the respondents (98%) know that eggs can be the
source of Salmonella and should be disinfected, which can be
done in different ways, by irradiation, washing and parboiling, as well as by chemical disinfection.
Proper hygiene during technological process depends on
complying with the rules of heat processing. The respondents
know what is the purpose of measuring temperature inside of
a product (87%). Few of them (3.5%) could not give a correct answer when asked about what temperature should be
achieved inside of a product (poultry) during heat processing.
The employees were also not able to define safety shelf life
dishes, those that underwent heat processing and those that
had not (only about 60% of correct answers). No statistically
significant correlation was observed between the correctness
of answer and type of occupation (p>0.05).
Knowledge deficiencies of the examined personnel, as
well as the apparent discrepancy between theoretical hygiene
knowledge and its practical use, an issue pointed to by Fuks
et al. [2004], lead to the conclusion that permanent trainings
is needed in order to increase the personnel awareness of the
subject of food hygiene. Courses that would cover hygiene
issues should help the employees understand the importance
of compliance with the hygiene regulations and realize the
effect of incorrect practices on product safety. This kind of
training would also result in a remarkable decrease of food
poisoning risk, as the employees would learn how to recognize the factors lying behind lower quality, especially health
quality of food, and how to eliminate and prevent their occurrence.
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of the present research it can be stated that
knowledge level of the personnel of hotel catering establishments is average. Their familiarity with proper food processing
principles is not fully satisfactory. There is a need for trainings
explain the values, concepts and ideas of GHP and GMP and
the HACCP system. It is also crucial to control their practical application in the catering establishments. Only full un-
E. Czarniecka-Skubina & S. Skwierczyński
derstanding of hygiene rules can guarantee proper quality of
catering service and safety of the produced meals.
REFERENCES
1. Aiello A.E., Larson L.E., What is evidence for a casual link between hygiene and infections?. The Lancet Infection Diseases,
2002, 2, 2, 103-110.
2. Alterkuse S., Street D., Fein S., Levy A., Consumer knowledge
of foodborne microbial hazards and food handling practices. J.
Food Protect., 1996, 59, 287-294.
3. Barrie D., The provision of food and catering services in hospital.
J. Hosp. Infect., 1996, 33, 13-33.
4. Coleman Ph., Griffith Ch., Risk assessment: A diagnostic selfassessment tool for caterers. Hospitality Management, 1998, 17,
289–301.
5. Curtis V., Cairncross S., Yonli R., Domestic hygiene and diarrhoea – pinpointing the problem. Tropical Med. Int. Health,
2000, 5, 2, 22-32.
6. DeWit J.C., Kampelmacher W., Some aspects of bacterial contamination of hands of workers in foodservice establishments. J.
Bacteriol. Hygiene, 1984, 186, 9-12.
7. Fuks M.M., Szteyn J., Wiszniewska A., Many depends on people.
Bezpieczeństwo i Higiena Żywności, 2004, 15, 4, 38–39 (in Polish).
8. Kiper J., Street D.A., Lifelong Food Safety, U.S. Food and Drug
Administration – Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition,
www.cfsan.fda.gov], 2005.
9. Kołożyn-Krajewska D., (ed.), Hygiene of Food Production. 2003,
SGGW, Warszawa, pp. 244-247 (in Polish).
10. Martinez-Tomé M., Vera A.M., Murcia M.A., Improving the control of food production in catering establishments with particular
reference to the safety of salads. Food Control, 2000, 11, 437-445.
11. Yi-Mei S., Ockerman H.W., A review of the needs and current applications of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system
in foodservice areas. Food Control, 2005, 16, 325-332.
12. Wall P.G., Adok G., Evans H., Le Baigue S., Ross D., Ryan M.,
Cowden J., Outbreak of food-borne infections intestinal disease
in England and Wales 1992-1993. 1995, in: Proceedings of the
Conference on Food-Borne Diseases: Consequences and Prevention. Oxford Brooks University, Oxford, 30-31 March, p. 220.
13. Weingold S.E., Guzewich J.J., Fudala J.K., Use of foodborne disease data for HACCP risk assessment. J. Food Protect., 1994, 57,
820-830.
14. [www.fsai.ie], Code of Practice For Food Safety in the Fresh Produce Supply Chain in Ireland, Food Safety.
Hygiene knowledge of personnel employed in hotel catering establishments
99
OCENA WIEDZY Z ZAKRESU HIGIENY PERSONELU ZATRUDNIONEGO W ZAKŁADACH GASTRONOMII
HOTELOWEJ
Ewa Czarniecka-Skubina, Sebastian Skwierczyński
Katedra Techniki i Technologii Gastronomicznej, Wydział Nauk o Żywieniu Człowieka i Konsumpcji, Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa
Wiejskiego, Warszawa
Celem badań było określenie wiedzy personelu z zakresu zapewnienia higieny w gastronomii. Badania przeprowadzono metodą ankietową
wśród 200 pracowników zakładów gastronomii hotelowej.
Ponad 20% badanych pracowników miało wątpliwości czy w zakładzie funkcjonuje system HACCP, co świadczy o braku szkoleń, a także
nieprawidłowym funkcjonowaniu tego systemu. Na pytania związane z higieną personelu pracownicy w większości (około 90%) odpowiadali
prawidłowo. Wiele rozbieżności uzyskano na pytanie dotyczące częstotliwości zmiany odzieży ochronnej (tylko 60% poprawnych odpowiedzi).
Pracownicy posiadali wystarczającą wiedzę na temat zapewnienia właściwej higieny rąk. Najwięcej kłopotów badanym sprawiały pytania związane z prowadzeniem procesów technologicznych. W przypadku wielu osób stwierdzono brak wiedzy dotyczącej prawidłowych zasad rozmrażania
żywności (11 osób wskazało na rozmrażanie żywności pod bieżącą, gorącą wodą jako prawidłowy sposób). Pracownicy wiedzieli, że nie wolno
ponownie zamrażać rozmrożonego mięsa, ale 1/4 badanych wskazywała na możliwość jego przechowywania w chłodni po rozmrożeniu do 5 dni.
Nie potrafili określić bezpiecznego czasu przechowywania gotowych potraw. Znano podstawowe zasady GHP i nie było problemów z odpowiedzią na pytania dotyczące zapewnienia higieny w pomieszczeniach zakładu gastronomicznego.
Na podstawie przeprowadzonych badań stwierdzono, że poziom wiedzy personelu zakładów gastronomii hotelowej nie jest w pełni satysfakcjonujący, zwłaszcza w zakresie dotyczącym prawidłowości prowadzenia procesu przygotowania potraw. Na szkoleniach należałoby wyjaśnić
pracownikom pojęcia, zasady i istotę GHP, GMP oraz systemu HACCP, a następnie kontrolować ich praktyczne zastosowanie. Tylko rozumienie
zasad higieny przez personel zagwarantuje właściwą jakość usługi gastronomicznej.